Saudi Aramco extended contract for Seadrill’s jack-up rig AOD III

The offshore drilling provider Seadrill received notice by Saudi Aramco for extension of the charter contract for the jack-up rig AOD III. The contract will take in force immediately and will keep in operation the rig until December 2019. The total value of the extension agreement is 976 million NOK, or 112.5 million USD, which will be accounted at the company’s order backlog. The contract extension is important for the offshore driller, which suffers from decreasing employment, caused by the low oil prices and stagnation in the sector. However, company strengthen its partnership with Saudi Aramco, which in July extended by three years the charter contracts for another two Seadrill jack-ups AOD I and AOD II. The three units have worked for Saudi Aramco since 2013 in Percian Gulf.

Seadrill has had a terrible run over the last two years as oil prices dropped and offshore drilling demand dried up. But the last few months have brought a little hope to the industry and Seadrill itself. Rising oil prices could eventually lead to more demand and stronger earnings and revenue.

Seadrill is a deepwater drilling contractor which provides drilling services to the oil and gas industry. It is incorporated in Bermuda and managed from London. Seadrill has operations in Angola, Brunei, the Republic of Congo, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria, Norway, Thailand, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, UAE, United States and the United Kingdom.

The jack-up rig AOD III (IMO: 9633707) has length of 71.30 m and beam of 68.80 m. The platform has rated water depth of 121 m and rated drilling depth of 9144 m.